adenosine-kinase and formycin

Two isoforms of the enzyme adenosine kinase (AdK), which differ at their N-terminal ends, are found in mammalian cells. However, there is no information available regarding the unique functional aspects or regulation of these isoforms.. We show that the two AdK isoforms differ only in their first exons and the promoter regions; hence they arise via differential splicing of their first exons with the other exons common to both isoforms. The expression of these isoforms also varied greatly in different rat tissues and cell lines with some tissues expressing both isoforms and others expressing only one of the isoforms. To gain insights into cellular functions of these isoforms, mutants resistant to toxic adenosine analogs formycin A and tubercidin were selected from Chinese hamster (CH) cell lines expressing either one or both isoforms. The AdK activity in most of these mutants was reduced to <5% of wild-type cells and they also showed large differences in the expression of the two isoforms. Thus, the genetic alterations in these mutants likely affected both regulatory and structural regions of AdK. We have characterized the molecular alterations in a number of these mutants. One of these mutants lacking AdK activity was affected in the conserved NxxE motif thereby providing evidence that this motif involved in the binding of Mg2+ and phosphate ions is essential for AdK function. Another mutant, FomR-4, exhibiting increased resistance to only C-adenosine analogs and whose resistance was expressed dominantly in cell-hybrids contained a single mutation leading to Ser191Phe alteration in AdK. We demonstrate that this mutation in AdK is sufficient to confer the novel genetic and biochemical characteristics of this mutant. The unusual genetic and biochemical characteristics of the FomR-4 mutant suggest that AdK in this mutant might be complexed with the enzyme AMP-kinase. Several other AdK mutants were altered in surface residues that likely affect its binding to the adenosine analogs and its interaction with other cellular proteins.. These AdK mutants provide important insights as well as novel tools for understanding the cellular functions of the two isoforms and their regulation in mammalian cells.

Topics: Adenosine Kinase; Amino Acid Sequence; Animals; Base Sequence; Cell Line; Cricetinae; Cricetulus; Exons; Formycins; Gene Expression Regulation; Humans; Mice; Molecular Sequence Data; Mutation; Promoter Regions, Genetic; Protein Isoforms; Protein Structure, Tertiary; Rats; Tubercidin

Polyclonal antibodies to homogeneous preparation of adenosine kinase from Leishmania donovani were raised in rabbit. The antiserum was inhibitory and precipitated enzyme activity from both homogeneous and partially purified adenosine kinase from the parasite. However, the antiserum did not immunoprecipitate adenosine kinase of other higher eukaryotic sources tested so far. Immunoblot analysis of extracts from L. donovani and other sources revealed specific reaction of the antiserum with only the parasite enzyme. Under similar conditions, the enzyme monophosphorylated adenosine and 7-amino-3[beta-D-ribofuranosyl]-1H-pyrazolo[4,3-d]pyrimidine (formycin A) with almost equal efficiency, exhibiting Km values of 16 and 24 microM, respectively. The turnover number (Kcat) of the enzyme with both adenosine and formycin A was 24 s-1, whereas Kcat/Km yielded values of 1.5 and 1.0 microM-1 s-1, respectively. Substrate competition experiments indicated strong inhibition of [3H]formycin A phosphorylation by adenosine. In contrast, [3H]adenosine phosphorylation was insensitive to formycin A except at very high concentrations. The inhibitions of [3H]formycin A and [3H]adenosine phosphorylation by adenosine and formycin A were noncompetitive with respect to each other. Of the two nucleosides, adenosine was found to be effective in eluting the enzyme from the 5'-AMP Sepharose 4B column. Phosphorylation of [3H]formycin A was strongly inhibited by N-ethylmaleimide at concentrations which exerted minimal effect on [3H]adenosine phosphorylation. Adenosine exclusively, but not formycin A, protected the enzyme from N-ethylmaleimide-mediated inactivation. Taken together the results suggest that (a) adenosine kinase from L. donovani is immunologically distinct and (b) the enzyme possibly has two discrete catalytically active nucleoside interacting sites.

Topics: Adenosine; Adenosine Kinase; Adenosine Triphosphate; Animals; Antibody Specificity; Binding Sites; Binding, Competitive; Catalysis; Ethylmaleimide; Formycins; Immunoblotting; Immunosorbent Techniques; Kinetics; Leishmania donovani; Phosphorylation; Phosphotransferases; Potassium Chloride; Species Specificity

1. By using freshly isolated blood trypomastigotes of twelve T. cruzi wild type strains we have found eight strains sensitive to FoB and FoA, while four and one were FoA- and FoB-insensitive respectively to the drug-mediated growth inhibition. 2. This was not so for APPR, to which most strains were transitory insensitive except two which were clearly sensitive. 3. All these pyrazolopyrimidines blocked trypomastigote-amastigote transformation. 4. Incubation of pyrazolopyrimidine-insensitive wild strains with [3H]FoA, [3H]FoB and [14C]APPR respectively indicates that insensitive cells can only accumulate low concentrations of phosphorylated metabolites. 5. This is due to a defective or impaired pyrazolopyrimidine riboside transport system in the wild type insensitive cells, as we did not detect significant variations in the levels of the various nucleoside and nucleobase metabolism enzymes studied. 6. Additional experiments suggested that FoA and FoB are incorporated by different nucleoside transport systems, as Y and ES strains were FoA-insensitive but FoB-sensitive. 7. Epimastigotes of the same T. cruzi strains were highly sensitive to low concentrations of the three pyrazolopyrimidine ribosides studied. However, when this parasitic form was allowed to transform into trypomastigotes, these cells showed the same pyrazolopyrimidine sensitivity found before, suggesting that in T. cruzi pyrazolopyrimidine riboside-insensitivity is a parasite-stage specific and reversible biochemical characteristic.

Topics: Adenine; Adenosine; Adenosine Kinase; Animals; Antiprotozoal Agents; Biological Transport; Drug Resistance; Formycins; Kinetics; Phosphotransferases; Pyrimidine Nucleosides; Trypanosoma cruzi

Adenosine kinase (AK) from CHO cells has been purified to homogeneity and specific antibodies to it have been raised in rabbits. Using this antibody, the presence of a specific cross-reacting protein (CRP) in cell extracts of different classes of mutants resistant to purine nucleoside analogs which are affected in AK has been investigated by the immunoblotting technique. Results of our studies show that 31 of the 32 independently selected class A AK- mutants (obtained at high frequency in presence of adenosine analogs toyocamycin, tubercidin, 6-methylmercaptopurine riboside, or pyrazofurin and containing no measurable activity of AK in cell extracts) contained similar amounts of a specific CRP as seen in the parental AK+ cells. The CRP in the parental and different mutant cell lines has the same relative molecular mass as purified AK. Similar results were obtained with two mutants each of the class B and C type (selected in presence of C-nucleosides formycin A and formycin B), which are also affected in AK but show novel properties. The presence of equivalent amounts of the CRP in the vast majority of the class A mutants strongly indicates that the high frequency of those mutants in CHO cells is not a result of an epigenetic or deletion type of event, but that such mutants may contain missense types of mutations at a presumed "mutational hot spot" within the structural gene for adenosine kinase.

Topics: Adenosine Kinase; Amides; Animals; Antibody Specificity; Cell Line; Cricetinae; Cricetulus; Cross Reactions; Drug Resistance; Female; Formycins; Immunosorbent Techniques; Methylthioinosine; Mutation; Ovary; Phosphotransferases; Pyrazoles; Ribonucleosides; Ribose; Toyocamycin; Tubercidin

Topics: Adenosine; Adenosine Kinase; Animals; Binding, Competitive; Biological Transport; Cell Line; Cricetinae; Cross Reactions; Drug Resistance; Formycins; Mutation; Phosphotransferases; Purine Nucleosides; Structure-Activity Relationship; Tubercidin

In Chinese hamster ovary cells, [3H]formycin B is metabolized into formycin B-5'-monophosphate, formycin A-5'-monophosphate and higher phosphorylated derivatives of formycin A which are incorporated into RNA. Mutants of CHO cells independently selected for resistance to various adenosine analogs viz. toyocamycin, tubercidin, 6-methylmercaptopurine riboside, which contain no detectable activity of adenosine kinase (AK) in cell extracts, all exhibited between 2- to 3-fold increased resistance to formycin B. Formycin B-resistant mutants of CHO cells are also affected in AK, as indicated by the absence of AK activity in cell extracts. Both types of AK- mutants showed reduced uptake and phosphorylation of [3H]formycin B in comparison to the parental (AK+) cells. In addition, toxicity of formycin B towards CHO cells was reduced in presence of adenosine in a concentration dependent manner. These observations strongly indicate that in CHO cells, formycin B is phosphorylated via AK and that like other nucleoside analogs its phosphorylation may be essential for the drugs cellular toxicity.

Topics: Adenosine; Adenosine Kinase; Amides; Animals; Antibiotics, Antineoplastic; Cell Line; Cricetinae; Drug Resistance; Female; Formycins; Methylthioinosine; Mutation; Ovary; Phosphorylation; Phosphotransferases; Pyrazoles; Ribonucleosides; Ribose; Toyocamycin; Tubercidin

7-Amino-3-(2'-deoxy-beta-D-ribofuranosyl)pyrazolo[4,3-d]pyrimidine (2'-deoxyformycin A) was synthesized from formycin A by a sequence consisting of (i) 3',5'-cyclosilylation with 1,3-dichloro-1,1,3,3-tetraisopropyldisiloxane, (ii) 2'-acylation with phenoxythiocarbonyl chloride and 4-(N,N-dimethylamino)pyridine, (iii) N-trimethylsilylation with hexamethyldisilazane, (iv) reduction of the 2'-O-phenoxythiocarbonyl group with tri-n-butyltin hydride, and (v) desilylation with tetra-n-butylammonium fluoride. 2'-Deoxyformycin A was a potent inhibitor of the in vitro growth of S49 lymphoma, a murine tumor of T-cell origin. The IC50 of 2'-deoxyformycin A against S49 cells was 10-15 microM, whereas that of 2'-deoxyadenosine (dAdo) under the same conditions (72-h incubation in medium containing heat-inactivated horse serum) was 180 microM. In the presence of 10 microM erythro-9-(2-hydroxy-3-nonyl)adenine (EHNA) to block intracellular adenosine deaminase (ADA) activity, 2'-deoxyformycin A and dAdo both gave IC50's of 5-10 microM. When assayed against a mutant S49 subline lacking adenosine kinase (AK) or a subline with a combined deletion of AK and deoxycytidine kinase (dCK), 2'-deoxyformycin A in combination with 10 microM EHNA was inactive at concentrations of up to 50 microM. Similar lack of activity against kinase-deficient cells was shown by formycin A. Thus, phosphorylation of 2'-deoxyformycin A appears to be required for biological activity and is probably catalyzed by AK rather than dCK. 2'-Deoxyformycin A and related 2'-deoxyribo-C-nucleoside analogues of the purine type may be of interest as potential T-cell specific cytotoxic agents.

Topics: Adenosine Kinase; Animals; Antibiotics, Antineoplastic; Cells, Cultured; Deoxyadenosines; Formycins; Lymphoma; Mice; T-Lymphocytes

The incorporation of the radiolabeled adenosine analogs tubercidin, formycin A, 9-deaza-adenosine, and adenine arabinoside into nucleotides of Schistosoma mansoni schistosomules was studied in vitro. Of the four analogs, only tubercidin and formycin A were incorporated into the nucleotide pool, at rates respectively one-tenth and one-fiftieth the rate of adenosine incorporation. Tubercidin inhibited schistosomule motility in vitro with an approximate IC50 value of 1 microM, whereas formycin A exerted no visible effect even when more of it than of tubercidin was incorporated into the nucleotides and nucleic acids. Formycin A thus acts like a nontoxic adenosine analog. 7-Deaza-adenine, the purine base of tubercidin, was not incorporated into nucleotides. 7-Deaza-adenine, 9-deaza-adenosine, and adenine arabinoside all had no effect on schistosomule motility at concentrations up to 100 microM. Formycin A blocked the incorporation of tubercidin and of adenosine with equal effectiveness, as did p-nitrobenzyl-6-mercaptopurine ribonucleoside, a specific inhibitor of nucleoside transport in many mammalian cells. Thus, formycin A, tubercidin, and adenosine appear to have a common mechanism of cellular uptake. The significant levels of adenosine phosphorylase and adenine phosphoribosyl transferase activity found in schistosomule extracts suggests that most of the transported adenosine is converted to adenine before conversion to AMP. The levels of adenosine kinase and tubercidin kinase, while low, can more than account for the rate of tubercidin incorporated into intact schistosomules. The kinase(s) may also represent a minor pathway for direct adenosine incorporation. It may have a rather unusual substrate specificity because it is able to recognize adenosine, tubercidin, and formycin A as substrates, but not 9-deaza-adenosine or adenine arabinoside.

Topics: Adenosine; Adenosine Kinase; Adenosine Monophosphate; Animals; Antibiotics, Antineoplastic; Formycins; Movement; Nucleotides; Purine-Nucleoside Phosphorylase; Ribonucleosides; Schistosoma mansoni; Substrate Specificity; Tubercidin; Vidarabine

From a mutagenized population of wildtype Leishmania donovani promastigotes, a clonal cell line, TUBA2, was isolated by virtue of its ability to survive and grow in 20 microM tubercidin (7-deazaadenosine). The TUBA2 clone was also 1000-fold less sensitive than the parental line to growth inhibition by formycin A, another cytotoxic adenosine analog. Parental and mutant cells, however, were equally sensitive to growth inhibition by formycin B, allopurinol riboside, and 6-thioguanosine. Mutant cell extracts, unlike those prepared from wildtype cells, did not phosphorylate radiolabelled adenosine, tubercidin, or formycin A. Intact adenosine kinase-deficient cells did not accumulate exogenous tubercidin or formycin A but incorporated [14C]adenosine at rates 25% of those found for parental cells. The uptake data suggest that adenosine kinase plays an important role in the metabolism of adenosine but indicate alternative metabolic pathways for this nucleoside. The metabolism of adenosine to the nucleotide level in TUBA2 cells appears to be initiated via deribosylation to adenine. Significant amounts of both adenosine hydrolytic and adenosine phosphorylytic activities have been detected in L. donovani promastigotes. Furthermore, L. donovani extracts could slowly catalyze the deamination of formycin A. The isolation and characterization of adenosine kinase-deficient cells has provided considerable insight into the function of the purine pathway in L. donovani.

Topics: Adenosine; Adenosine Kinase; Animals; Formycins; Kinetics; Leishmania; Mutation; Phosphotransferases

The adenosine kinase activity present in a soluble preparation from rat liver was investigated using formycin A (FoA), a fluorescent analog of adenosine as the phosphoryl acceptor and ATP as the donor. Reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (h.p.l.c.) was used to separate substrate from product, and the progress of the phosphorylation reaction was followed by monitoring fluorometrically the amount of formycin 5'-monophosphate (FoMP), and the AMP analog, that was formed. The results showed that while FoMP was formed during the reaction indicating that an adenosine kinase activity was present, both formycin 5'-di- and triphosphate (FoDP and FoTP respectively), the corresponding analogs of ADP and ATP, were also formed, suggesting than an adenylate kinase activity was present. This result was confirmed with FoMP as the substrate and showing the formation of FoDP and FoTP. Other experiments carried out with FoMP as the substrate revealed the formation of FoA. Taken together, these results indicated that a 5'-nucleotidase activity as well as an adenylate kinase was present. Using this analog and h.p.l.c., it has been possible to demonstrate for the first time in an in vitro system the complete salvage of a nucleoside to the triphosphate level.

Topics: 5'-Nucleotidase; Adenosine Kinase; Adenosine Triphosphate; Adenylate Kinase; Animals; Antibiotics, Antineoplastic; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; Female; Formycins; Kinetics; Liver; Mice; Nucleotidases; Phosphotransferases; Ribonucleotides